Time for Colleges and Universities to Further Embrace eSports

America is being forced to change rapidly and embrace a ‘New Normal’ way of life in America - driven by the COVID-19 pandemic and enabled by a wide range of new technologies. This includes the world of collegiate sports.

This article provides a high level overview of the world of eSports that has been steadily gathering a larger viewing and playing population across the U.S. and around the world. eSports clubs and programs are also catching on right here in South Carolina.

Take a minute to check out the following links to the social media and web sites for the Clemson University eSports Club, the USC Gamecock eSports Club, and the USC Sumter eSports Program. Will eSports programs in South Carolina one day rival the more costly traditional sports programs of today?

eSports Defined eSports often takes the form of organized, multiplayer video game competitions, particularly between individual players or teams. eSports can be watched in person or online by spectators. Like traditional sports, eSports teams have coaches, their players often wear team jerseys, and they compete in physical or online ‘virtual’ arenas. See Wikipedia

Findings

As the popularity of eSports has grown, numerous colleges and universities have started to increasingly embrace eSports, with some universities going so far as to begin building eSports facilities with eSports programs and a complementing curriculum. Some of these new collegiate varsity programs are also actively recruiting eSports players and offering them college scholarships.

Only seven colleges and universities had varsity eSports programs back in 2016, but by 2018 there were 63 institutions with burgeoning programs. By 2019, over 130 universities had started eSports programs. Within a few more years, expect all major colleges and universities across the U.S. to have some form of eSports program in place.

Responding to the growing interest in collegiate eSports, a number of top North American eSports organizations are teaming up to advance eSports in higher education. For example, the National Association of eSports Coaches and Directors and the Unified Collegiate Esports Association recently partnered to provide more professional development for eSports coaches and program directors. Also, there are now several college eSports leagues, e.g. NACE, Tespa, GenE

A growing g number of universities have actually started building eSports facilities on their campus. Along with high-speed computers and broadband network connections, these facilities also come with top-of-the-line headsets and gaming chairs for maximum comfort and complete concentration for their cyber-athletes. They also include viewing facilities with high resolution large screens for fans. With the right sponsors, some programs have found donors that will readily supply all the equipment needed.

Finally, in a session on the rise of eSports in higher education at the 2019 EduCause Conference, dozens of campus IT leaders showed interest in introducing eSports at their institutions. They found that engaging students in eSports helps them build critical thinking skills, encourages teamwork and innovation, and promote self-directed learning. It also helps with student recruitment and enrollment.

Selected Articles on eSports

The following are selected links to recent articles about eSports programs and activities related to colleges and universities across the U.S. that you might want to take the time to read.

• College eSports Scholarships, Leagues, and Varsity eSports Programs

• Generation eSports named Exclusive Sponsor of University Interscholastic League

• Top 10 University eSports Programs & Facilities in the US

• 20 Colleges with Varsity eSports Programs in the US

• University Business: Keeping eSports players mentally strong and in the game

Selected Issues

In these trying times, many players report their gaming participation has helped them with issues of social isolation and anxiety by giving them a more comfortable and structured means to interact and develop relationships online. At the same time, concerns center around inordinate hours spent gaming and the potential of addiction, negative mental health effects, and the physiological impact of gaming on the brain.

As a consequemce of the recent COVID-19 pandemic, many sports programs and athletic events have been suspended. In fact several universities have had to permanently cut some of their costly conventional sports programs as budgets have tightened, e.g. Furman University. Think about the hundreds of millions in tax dollars spent on supporting Clemson University and USC Gamecock traditional sports programs, e.g. football, baseball. eSports programs cost considerably less to support.

Next Steps & Recommendations

Every college and university in South Carolina and across the U.S. needs to take a closer look and initiate feasibility and cost/benefit studies that look deeper into setting up eSports programs while simultaneously cutting back support for some costly traditional sports programs, e.g. Lacrosse, Field Hockey, Wrestling...

Many existing colleges and universities have been forced to strengthen their online education programs as a result of the pandemic. Even before the pandemic, online for-profit universities like the University of Phoenix and the American Public University System have challenged the need for continuing with costly taxpayer funded public universities. Over the coming decade expect the movement towards online college education to pick up dramatically. For many of these schools, online eSports programs make a lot of sense.

Times are changing. As much as some would like to cling to the past, we can’t stop progress and the continuing move to online education and eSports. Embrace the future. It’s going to happen.

Selected eSports Links Discover eSports International Esports Federation (IEF) NCSA eSports Colleges & Scholarship Guide National Association of Collegiate Esports (NACE) TESPA - College eSports Chapters Unified Collegiate eSports Association University of South Carolina (USC) Sumter eSports Program

The New Normal Heading to 2030 and Beyond

America is being forced to change rapidly and embrace a ‘New Normal’ way of life in America - driven by the COVID-19 pandemic, climate change, racial and gender bias, global unrest, coupled with a wide range of new technologies.

We all find ourselves caught in the midst of a global pandemic that is impacting everyone on Earth. Millions have caught COVID-19 and hundreds of thousands are dying from it. For much of the year we have been self-isolating at home and millions of people have joined the ranks of the unemployed.

However, many of today’s knowledge workers who use computers in their jobs have been able to continue working out of their homes using telecommunications capabilities. Many student were sent home and are now attending classes online. For many, shopping online has replaced driving to stores to buy food and other needed items. The number of cars on the roads dropped significantly, resulting in extremely low demand for gasoline resulting in less pollution and fewer automobile fatalities.

Again, we are all being forced to change rapidly and embrace a ‘New Normal’ way of life in America - driven by the COVID-19 pandemic, climate change, racial and gender bias, global unrest, coupled with a wide range of new technologies.

Examples of Technological Advances Over the Coming Decades There will be another 1,000-fold increase in computer power, storage, data transmission rates, and software apps over the coming decade.Think 'Quantum Computing'. High speed Broadband, Satellite, and 5G Wireless Networks will be fully deployed and used across all parts of the globe. Trillions of 'Internet of Things (IoT)' sensors and Smart Home Appliances will be deployed and interconnected. Artificial Intelligence (AI), Virtual Reality, Big Data, and Data Analytics will play a dominant role in every business and in our everyday lives. Wearable, Implantable and Brain Computer Interface (BCI) technologies will begin to be deployed and used in healthcare, military, business, and many other domains. Robots will become a much more common feature in homes and businesses around the world. Widespread deployment of a range of renewable energy technologies will steadily replace fossil fuels, e.g. wind, solar, hydrogen fuel cells, small scale nuclear. Electric Vehicles (EV) and Unmanned Autonomous Vehicles (UAV) will largely dominate the transportation industry by 2030, e.g. car, trucks, trains, airplanes, ships. Regenerative Medicine, Genetic Engineering, Stem Cell Research, 3D-Printed Human Organs, and 'Human Augmentation' technologies will dramatically alter people's life spans and capabilities.

The ‘New Normal’ way of life in America is not yet clearly defined. However, the following are examples of the ‘New Normal’ Life Styles and Behavior Changes taking place, often enabled by the wide range of new technologies all around us.

 

• Work – More and more workers that don’t need to be at a desk in a corporate office building need to be allowed to work from home. Essential workers that must show up for work in grocery stores, factories, hospitals and in many other jobs need to be paid a better wage and guaranteed safety and healthcare coverage.
• Retail Shopping - Until such time as vaccines are available and the current COVID-19 pandemic is eradicated, one of the ‘New Normals’ is that more and more shopping will be done online and many large store chains will be downsizing or will be going out of business.
• Education – More students need to be offered the alternative of going to school online, if the technology and telecommunications networks are in place. Teachers and students need to take public health protective measures as needed. Much of the world’s teachers, workers, researchers and students will increasingly have free and ‘open access’ to the growing repository of the world’s knowledge.
• Healthcare – The COVID-19 pandemic is helping to refocus and speed up the transition towards the use of Telehealth systems, Electronic Health Records (EHR), Personal Health Records (PHR), Health Information Exchange (HIE) Networks and the commitment to Open Access, Open Science, Preventive Medicine, Regenerative Medicine, Public Health, and DNA data driven solutions. There will be some significant impacts on our current configuration of hospitals, clinics, doctor’s offices, and the way we practice medicine across the country.
• Entertainment – Packed gatherings in huge stadiums to watch sports events, rock concerts, or political rallies may have run their course. Smaller face-to-face events are probably going to be replaced by televised events and eventually by spectators viewing these events using virtual reality technology. Attendance at movie theaters will continue to decline and visits to museums and other cultural exhibitions will continue to transition to online viewing – see Open Culture web site. However, expect many people to return to bars, nightclubs, and restaurants once the current pandemic passes. It’s just going to happen.
• Religion & Churches – Churches, religious organizations, and their faithful followers have been steadily embracing new technologies and online solutions. The next generation of young believers and church leaders have embraced and adjusted to the use of the Internet, Social Media, and Mobile Technology to create online communities, extend their global outreach, spread their faith, teach, learn… See Summerton ‘Open’ Religious Technology & Tools.
• Transportation Systems – The COVID-19 pandemic has people rethinking travel on crowded airplanes and cruise ships. Growing concerns over global climate change are boosting production and sales of Electronic Vehicles (EV). Other changes to transportation systems include industry investments in Hydrogen Fuel Cell Powered Vehicles and Unmanned Autonomous Vehicles (UAV), High Speed Rail, and other solutions. Telecommuting is also leading to significantly less traffic on the roads. Also, Uber has provided an alternative to car ownership for many people living in cities that will bear watching closely.
• Energy & Environment – Both climate change and the current pandemic are speeding up the declining use of fossil fuels, while investments in alternative solar, wind, and hydro energy solutions are rapidly climbing. Hydrogen fuel cell technology and small modular nuclear reactors are also going to be coming online later this decade, further driving nails into the coffin of the dying fossil fuel industry. Climate change, pollution, rising sea levels and many other related issues depend on us now moving from ‘talk’ to ‘action’.We are well on our way transitioning from a Type 0 to a Type 1 Civilization to a more advanced Type 1 Civilization. Read about the Kardashev Scale
• Government & Society – America is in the midst of debating and pursuing many needed societal and government reforms. Racial justice and gender bias remain hot topics. Gun control, corporate tax reforms, voting suppression issues, universal healthcare, Rebuilding trust, setting Congressional term limits, addressing immigration, and many other topics will challenge us all for many decades to come. Expect a lot of hard fought battles on the streets and in the political arena. It’s the American way – and it all eventually works out. Read about Top Issues Facing America in 2020

[Since originally writing this article back in the mid-2020s, the Russian war on Ukraine has occurred, global climate change has picked up speed, and global unrest has grown in countries around the world.]

 

US Demographics by 2050 By 2050, the population of the US will climb to approximately 400 million people and Blacks, Asians, Hispanics and other racial minorities will make up a majority of the US population. By 2050, the female population will climb to over 200 million people and there will be 7.5 million more women than men in the US. Nearly nine-in-ten (87%) predict that a woman will be elected US President by 2050, and the number of women in Congress and state legislatures will finally equal the number of elected male officials.

These are just a few of the many changes that will be taking place as a ‘New Normal’ way of life emerges heading towards 2030 and beyond. For those who think there is no such thing as a ‘New Normal’, think again!

Other Selected Articles Top Issues and Challenges Facing American in 2020 What Do Women See Happening Over The Coming Decades? What Do Today’s Youth See Happening Over the Coming Decades? Overpopulation: Efforts to Reduce the World’s Population Next Generation Education 4.0 Systems Health 4.0 by 2040 Specific Technology Predictions for 2030 Transitioning from a Type 0 to a Type 1 Civilization Michio Kaku: Quantum Computing and Our Future